Democratic candidates address Christian group

Marshall Adame, a Democrat who is running for the 3rd District U.S. House seat, speaks Monday to members of the Craven-Pamlico Christian Coalition.

Photo by Chuck Beckley/Sun Journal Staff

By Sue Book, Sun Journal Staff

Published: Tuesday, July 22, 2014 at 09:16 PM.

Craven County Democratic candidates for the North Carolina Legislature and an Onslow County Democrat running for the U.S. House must at moments have felt like Daniel in the lion’s den in front of Craven-Pamlico Christian Coalition Monday.

The expressly conservative and mostly Republican group’s meeting packed about 50 people into a New Bern Golden Corral room, which usually sees a smaller crowd, to hear and question U.S. District 3 House candidate Marshall Adame; N.C. Senate District 2 candidate Carr Ipock; and N.C. House District 3 candidate Whit Whitley.

The meeting opened with a prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a scripture reading. Then group leader and N.C. Fisheries Association director and lobbyist Jerry Schill made comments and introductions.

He talked about a longtime relationship between he and Ipock and the premise that people can disagree on issues and still be friends and that differences require negotiation and compromise.

“Three things you have to know about in Raleigh if you are from this area,” he said. “Farming, forestry, fisheries. Tourism is pretty important too.”

Welcoming applause for the group and for each candidate before and after he spoke, hinted that Schill’s view was shared by most present — until specific questions at the end of presentations by the three.

Some present, at least two Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association members, continued to push a National Democratic Party convention incident with questions about how the candidates could be a members of a party that “booed God at its national convention.”

Craven County Democratic candidates for the North Carolina Legislature and an Onslow County Democrat running for the U.S. House must at moments have felt like Daniel in the lion’s den in front of Craven-Pamlico Christian Coalition Monday.

The expressly conservative and mostly Republican group’s meeting packed about 50 people into a New Bern Golden Corral room, which usually sees a smaller crowd, to hear and question U.S. District 3 House candidate Marshall Adame; N.C. Senate District 2 candidate Carr Ipock; and N.C. House District 3 candidate Whit Whitley.

The meeting opened with a prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a scripture reading. Then group leader and N.C. Fisheries Association director and lobbyist Jerry Schill made comments and introductions.

He talked about a longtime relationship between he and Ipock and the premise that people can disagree on issues and still be friends and that differences require negotiation and compromise.

“Three things you have to know about in Raleigh if you are from this area,” he said. “Farming, forestry, fisheries. Tourism is pretty important too.”

Welcoming applause for the group and for each candidate before and after he spoke, hinted that Schill’s view was shared by most present — until specific questions at the end of presentations by the three.

Some present, at least two Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association members, continued to push a National Democratic Party convention incident with questions about how the candidates could be a members of a party that “booed God at its national convention.”

All three candidates said that neither the national party nor the National Democratic Party platform is what is prompting them to seek office.

At one point, obviously bowing out of discussion of his personal faith and its connection to the National Democratic Party platform, 22-year-Craven County Board of Education Chairman Ipock said, “I didn’t really come here expecting to win many votes. I came here to hear your legislative concerns.”

All three candidates said they are Christians; each said he would take his strong personal faith and moral conscience to Raleigh or Washington if elected Each indicated he considers birth control and abortion to be personal, not matters for government. Each stressed that his purpose for running was to better represent those living in Eastern North Carolina.

Those offices are currently all held by Republicans who could not attend, if for no other reason, because the N.C. General Assembly and U.S. Congress are in session.

Adame, Ipock and Whitley, in that order beginning their 15 to 20 minutes before the group, stressed that local Democrats also open their meetings with a prayer and a Pledge of Allegiance.

Adame, a retired Marine, appointed Iraq diplomat by President George W. Bush, and war time contractor, called himself “a JFK Democrat since I was in the fifth grade.”

He said his support for many of the social programs originated in that era, which he thinks are the responsibility of all Americans, are one reasons he is a Democrat. “But excessive spending” for all government programs must be reined in for them to continue effectively.

“The excessive spending began at the onset of my life and has been going on for 45 years but the spiral started after 9/11 and cost us trillions of dollars,” Adame said. “Congress allocates money but the Federal Reserve prints money. If they print it and Congress gets its hands on it, they spend it. It’s not relegated to just one party. I’m a Bush appointee. We were wasting money hand over fist.”

Ipock, retired after 35 years with Weyerhaeuser as a chemist and then human resources manager, said his background is in business and his public service strength is in education.

Speaking to concerns about Common Core, Ipock said, “There a lot of things that distress us all” because of that service. But they were standards-based programs from both parties — Total Quality Education, Points Based Accountability, No Child Left Behind.

He said he supports more local control of education and “I have lot of concern about state dictating how we teach religion to our students.”

But Ipock stressed that the problem is not the teachers and they need to be better paid and supported.

Whitley spoke of the problems of poverty and hunger in Eastern North Carolina.

He said he supports expansion of Medicaid but with some co-pay, “however small,” for every user to help control cost and abuse.

A practicing attorney, Whitley said he is running for office for the first time because he wants to help to sustain economic growth in Eastern North Carolina and make it a safer place for our children to grow up.

“I am concerned about the shifting responsibilities from the state to county government for roads and education and Tryon Palace,” he said.

Whitley also expressed concern about gas and oil exploration and said, “I especially worry about the economic benefit to this area,” seeing it more likely to be drilling and fracking to benefit others and making us a dumping ground for waste.”